Perceptions of myths and brand identity in advertising: Exploring the role of archetypes and national symbolism in advertising

Abstract

And if it is true that we acquired our knowledge before our birth, and lost it at the moment of birth, but afterward, by the exercise of our senses upon sensible objects, recover the knowledge which we had once before, I suppose that what we call learning will be the recovery of our own knowledge … Plato. Similar myths emerge all over the world at the same time, in cultures that have had no contact with each other. Myths include the symbols and roles that define the identity of a group of people. Carl Gustav Jung proposes that these myths share a common source in archetypes of an objective, collective unconscious. Advertising contains a wealth of myths and can be considered a modern mythmaker. Archetypal images appear as characters, situations and places in advertising. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore how consumers respond to cultural myth and archetypal imagery in brand advertising, and what impact these advertisements may have on identity and brands. A qualitative design, comprising of five modified focus groups was used to gather exploratory data from first year University of Otago students, living in halls of residence. The data was transcribed and then analysed using the computer software: Qualitative Solutions and Research (QSR) Non-numerical Unstructured Data * Indexing Searching and Theorizing (NUDIST) for qualitative analysis, and Decision Explorer for qualitative theorising and display. Findings suggest that archetypes act as foundations for characters and themes in advertising. The use of archetypes in advertising imagery appears to affect consumers' recall and emotions towards advertising. National and regional identities are manipulated by advertising's portrayal of particular societal characters and roles. A model is proposed that illustrates how archetypes, as characters in advertisements, affect brand identity and society. Based on this finding, advertisers should select archetypal characters or themes that compliment the character of their organisation, brand or product. In addition, they must consider their role in society as a mythmaker and the influence of their advertising on identity.